Nier Automata was made without trying to appeal to Western audiences and yet it got lots of success in the West
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Very true on the Persona 5 point, though I think we can make some distinction between "Japanese games" and "anime games." Persona 5 is unabashedly anime in many ways, whereas Automata isn't really that anime but is still undeniably Japanese.
I think all of them combined came together to shift the tides back in the favor of Japan being itself in gaming, in various ways.
Automata I think is probably the biggest culprit for unrestrained hot MCs and open thirsting getting a comeback, which is a little sad because its a lot more than that but its what most people took from it.
Breath of the Wild released at almost the exact same time, had universal acclaim, and swept Western awards. I can get excluding that one because "Nintendo," but worth mentioning.
I think Automata's importance was being a breakthrough success. Drakengard/Nier wasn't very mainstream or even that big in the weeb groups. Then Automata comes out of nowhere and knocks it out of the park. The important part was showing that the western market can be entered successfully without pandering to it. An important example for smaller devs.
Then again... PocketPair came along in 2023 said, "Americans like guns, right?" and sold 15m copies in one month.
Well that's because they were made by Cavia, a mostly anime license slop making company, so they weren't exactly big name worthy and the combat was less than stellar. Automata's biggest reason for success, besides the butt, was getting Platinum, a hugely popular company, to develop the gameplay element to cover their weaknesses.
So unfortunately I think the biggest takeaway there is "have your small indie creator get a popular company to risk their budget/time on him and you might be universally acclaimed." Because without Platinum involved, it absolutely would have remained a cult little title like Gestalt was.
That finally came out? I've been waiting for ages since 5 came out.
Of course we would bat an eye. How did this guy get a Japanese girlfriend who cooks and bakes?!